Wilkinson site proponent asks city to censure Roach over his comments

By FRED LUCAS and CHARLES PEARL
State Journal StafPublished: February 11, 2003 12:00AM

The debate over where the new Paul Sawyier Public Library should be located has gotten personal, as one library board member has taken exception to the actions of a city commissioner.

In a letter to Mayor Bill May Tuesday, library board member Norman Snider asked the City Commission to censure Commissioner Bob Roach for comments made at both a public meeting and later in a private conversation questioning Snider's motives for wanting to move the library to Wilkinson Boulevard. The letter even compared Roach to former Wisconsin Sen. Joe McCarthy, known for communist witch hunts in the 1950s.

Roach said Tuesday he didn't intend to be disrespectful to Snider, and was only disagreeing with his point.

The Snider letter requested that the commission "examine this incident and other possible similar incidents, and if you think it appropriate, that you censure Commissioner Roach for his attempt to destroy the reputation of a citizen of Frankfort and to call into question the integrity of a member of a public board."

The library board's debate about whether the new location should be on Wapping Street or Wilkinson Boulevard coincides with the debate among city commissioners as to whether City Hall should move into the soon-to-be vacated building currently housing the library.